My guilty pleasures.

Everybody has them.

A guilty pleasure, the ONE thing you LOVE to indulge in.

It seems to me, that I have 100 guilty pleasures. Everything I love is a guilty pleasure.

WHY DOES THE WORD GUILTY HAVE TO COME FIRST?

I have some friends who really really like shoes. And then I have some friends who really really like Starbucks. or who really really like home decor. or who really like to dine out. who like to drive around or do things. people who can't say no to magazines at the check out stand.

I seem to have been plagued with almost all of the above.
I could really care less about dining out.

BUT.

I REALLY REALLY like home decor. and shoes (this is a new one... ). and clothes (this is not new.) and Starbucks (I'm trying really hard on this one...) I LOVE LOVE magazines (I have a collection). I REALLY love Diet Coke, and I really like to spend money doing things. or at least I used to...

Since last June, Eric and I decided to get really serious about budgeting and how we spend our money, and we have been doing a REALLY good job. We are not perfect, we (and by WE, I mean Eric) still get fast food for lunch every now and then, we ( and by WE, I mean me) still buy some things at full price just because its new when we probably didn't need a brand new one (in reference to baby items), etc etc. BUT. We have improved, a lot. By this, I mean we pay our bills in full-when they're due, and we grocery shop instead of order out, Craig and his List have become our best friend, and we don't go out. ever. We don't buy new clothes even when we need them and we go without a lot of things we once thought we needed (RIP Bumble and Bumble shampoo).

We save a lot of money by staying in each and every night, getting a red box and calling it a date. Sometimes, this is the BEST date, and sometimes I fall asleep (Like, for example when we rent horrible movies).

Lately, I have been having a power struggle within my mind. On one hand, getting out of debt will be so rewarding, I know it. And on the other hand, I feel like I am missing out on experiences with my husband and my family (and even friends) simply because we're too cheap. It's hard to decipher whether it's important or if I think it's important because I just want to. Does anyone else feel like this or is it just me? It's okay if you say it's just me! I grew up in "Yuppy-ville" as Eric likes to call it, and I realize that sometimes I am too casual about my money spending habits.

Anyways, we got our tax return last week and here's what I did with it :

This was a little piece of heaven for me. I put one on the belt and then I kind of freaked out and grabbed 4 more. Eric was in jaw dropping shock at me, but he didn't say a word. This, my friends... is how you know you married the right man.

Just a little teaser.

Alright, I've been slaving away at this house since the minute we got the keys, and I am finally done! With one room. hahaha...the job is never done, it seems! I guess I could say that the living room is done as well, but we still have our DVD's/Blu Rays in boxes out of protection against the testosterone raging toddler I have on my hands. We are still trying to find the best way to organize and store them via the wall so that they don't get destroyed...

The kitchen was a mighty mess. I had to vacuum out the cupboards and drawers and then clean them and roll out the shelf/drawer liners. We had to purchase a new microwave and a new garbage can (Eric ran over our old garbage can lid on accident, so we stuck it in the garage for dirty diapers). See that garbage can? It opens automatically. We thought it was pretty sweet until Tristan figured it out. Anyway, you can't really tell in this picture but we also purchased a Pur attachment for the sink. The sink nozzle was a spray type thing-- it was ridiculous for making bottles or doing dishes-- water everywhere. So we killed two birds with one stone by changing it out. I would like to make some improvements to this kitchen but, ahh.. the life of a renter. It will do for now! :)

The finished product of the kitchen-- MINUS curtains-- I'm still debating on a. If I'm going to put any up and b. if I am, what color,etc.

The floor in here is pretty old and there are scuff marks and chips, and one big gash all over it, but guess what! Our actual landlord is out of the country right now till April (We've been working with his brother) but when he gets back he's going to replace the floor AND fix the deck. Wahoo! I'm excited.

To curtain or not to curtain?

Stay tuned for more house pictures!! 

Stranger

Saturday was our BIG furniture move day. We borrowed a trailer from a friend to transport all the furniture and were anticipating a gruesome move. 

In the past, our moves have been somewhat difficult. Unorganized and hurried, we have shoved things in boxes, bags, backpacks, laundry bins, etc... trying to make the most of what we've had to avoid getting a ton of boxes. Typically, I have stuffed the car full and done loads by myself while Eric works. In our duration together we have moved 4 times, 3 of which were in the same year. They have all been long, drawn out, and stressful. 

This was our 5th move together and by far the easiest move of all.

It might have helped that we were planning to downsize to an apartment/townhouse so we have been getting rid of things for months.. but anyway.

Saturday morning started off with a bang- 6 am. Up before the babies...oy. It was a rush to get everyone in the shower, packed and ready and take apart our bed before people showed up. My Dad and little sister Kendra came to pick up the boys at 9am to take them off our hands for the day. Such a blessing. Life is seriously easier without kids :) 

We had some men from our ward show up to help load furniture in the trailer. I didn't life a single piece of furniture. It might have been awkward that I literally didn't help them at all except that I was still packing up some last minute things like shower stuff, the couch cover and cushions, some of the last remaining kitchen dishes, etc. We got the Jeep and the trailer loaded so fast that they had time to help drive some of the furniture that didn't fit (aka my dresser. it's from Ikea. It took Eric 5 hours to build it. Needless to say, I hear about it every time we move.) We loaded my dresser, a mattress and our dining room table in the truck and off we went. We unloaded their truck so that they could take off and found ourselves with an HOUR of spare time. We considered just unloading it ourselves but didn't know what to do when people from our new ward showed up to help and there was nothing to do! We opted to go to Costco instead. When we came back a few guys showed up right away and we got the trailer unloaded in 10 minutes. It was just minutes after the trailer was unloaded that floods of people started showing up. We had about 20 people from our new ward show up to help! It was so great. We felt so welcomed and a million times less stressed. Can't wait to get to know these people! 

Hands to hold!

With all the moving we've been doing for the last 6 days, I thought I could at least snap one picture a day...and I'm sad to say that I failed. But I'm going to continue on with my February photo challenge.

I did however capture a few, but I missed Saturday and Sunday's objectives-- which is a HUGE bummer because my Saturday objective was STRANGER and my Sunday was 10AM. Both of these would have been AWESOME. But I missed out because, well they were awesome and I was not thinking about my photo challenge. More on why these would have been great later....

We handed over the keys to our old house today! What a relief! We got the keys to our new house last Wednesday and since then have been moving things in.... I'm exhausted! and I need a nap, so please excuse me if this post is all over the place.

Anyway, on to my photo challenge for the 3rd--

HANDS:

When I read this, I immediately thought of my 3 favorite sets of hands. I bet you can guess who they belong to. Ultimately I chose to capture my husbands hard working hands. It is February after all, and I am thankful I have a hand to hold! I am especially thankful that I like that hand so very much. Ok fine, I guess I love that hand :)

( I also feel lucky that for the rest of my life I will have at least THREE Valentines! I am a lucky lady.)

Words

Feb 2nd-- Words:

Guess what this is? 

Our new neighborhood sign!

My View

Ok, I know I'm behind already on my challenge! But don't you worry, I have been snapping photos-- I just haven't had time to sit down at a computer!

February 1st:

My view:

We got the keys to our new house on Wednesday and have been taking car loads over all day every day since! On Wednesday the boys got to play with their cousins so we could utilize all the space in the car, and my dear friend Kristen came to lend her hand and car as well. Thursday the boys went over to the Owens' to play..or sleep? (They slept almost the whole time they were there).  Despite the heavy lifting, it was a nice enjoyable day with the hubster. Although I enjoy spending these kinds of days with my love, it makes me miss him so much! I wish we could spend this much time together all the time like we used to. Ahh... those were the days... :)

Saturday is our big furniture move so we are trying to get as much of the boxes and odd shaped miscellaneous things over so that we can just focus on furniture. I love the house even more now that we have moved some of our own stuff into it. It has a nice cozy feel to it...